Nebraska State Patrol

The Nebraska State Patrol plans to consolidate several Lincoln offices into one new headquarters building next year. The State Patrol said it expects to move into its new headquarters just northwest of where Interstates 80 and 180 meet in Lincoln next March. The move will allow the agency to have most of its Lincoln-based staff under one roof. After the move, the State Patrol’s headquarters staff, communications division, criminal investigation unit, carrier enforcement officers and most Lincoln-based troopers will all work out of the new building.

Governor Pete Ricketts extended the DMV renewal deadline again yesterday. The governor issued an executive order that gives Nebraskans until August 31 to renew their car registrations, titles, and driver's licenses. Ricketts issued an order in May that extended the DMV renewal deadline for people 72 and older by a year.

Nebraska State Patrol troopers have ramped up their efforts to ensure that residents are following the state’s new social distancing rules to fight the coronavirus but haven’t yet issued any citations. A Nebraska State Patrol spokesman says the agency hasn’t ticketed anyone as of Monday afternoon, although troopers are able to do so under new restrictions that were expanded statewide on Friday. Patrol spokesman Cody Thomas says a trooper kept watch over a recent “cruise night” in Crete, but didn’t see any violations.

MAXWELL, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska State Patrol says troopers have seized 91 pounds of marijuana found in a sport utility vehicle during a traffic stop on Interstate 80 near the western Nebraska town of Maxwell.

(Douglas County, NE)  --  The Douglas County Sheriff's Office is keeping an eye on reckless motorcycle riders.  Officials say deputies are cracking down on motorcyclists who are popping wheelies.  The sheriff's office says motorcyclists who ride only on their back tires pose a risk to other drivers who may not see their headlights.  Prosecutors say people convicted of willful reckless driving face up to 90 days in jail.   

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska state trooper has cited a driver after pulling over a vehicle that had registration stickers painted onto its license plates.

Nebraska State Patrol spokesman Cody Thomas says the vehicle was stopped Monday morning at an Interstate 80 exit in north Lincoln. Trooper Adam Strode spotted the problem, and he ticketed the driver for having fictitious plates and not having valid registration.

(Scottsbluff, NE)  --  A Florida boy is honoring the life of a fallen Nebraska State Patrol trooper.  Ten-year-old Zechariah Cartledge used the "Running For Heroes" Facebook page on Saturday to share the story of how Trooper Jerry Smith died, and he then ran one mile in his memory.  Cartledge is running one mile for every law enforcement officer and firefighter who dies in the line of duty.  Smith died last week in head-on crash in Morrill County.

(Rushville, NE)  --  A suspect is dead following a deputy-involved shooting at a northwest Nebraska church.  The Omaha World Herald reports that a Sheridan County deputy shot 32-year-old Clarence Leading Fighter during a Palm Sunday mass at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Rushville yesterday morning.  Authorities say Leading Fighter was a suspect in an assault that took place at another location less than an hour earlier.  Leading Fighter later died, and the Nebraska State Patrol says the deputy used deadly force to protect himself and the parishioners from serious harm.

(Washington, DC)  --  A Nebraska State Trooper was at the White House on Wednesday for the signing of legislation intended to address the nation's opioid abuse crisis.  President Trump noted Sam Mortensen seized 118 pounds of fentanyl in April and recognized him for a job well done.  It was reportedly one of the largest fentanyl seizures in U.S. history.  Mortensen was invited to speak after being introduced.